Bourbon Caramel Cinnamon Brioche

Rich buttery brioche dough filled with sweet & salty bourbon caramel and cinnamon. Best served warm from the oven for a decadent weekend brunch.

Happy New Year! Cheesecake for Breakfast is back for 2017 and I have plenty of delicious recipes lined up to share with you this year. If you’ve entered January with resolutions of healthy eating, you may want to look away now because this cinnamon brioche recipe is pure diet sabotage. However, emotional health is just as important as physical and the process of kneading, baking and eating fresh bread is like a hug for your soul. Hi, my name is Kristyn and I am a professional-level enabler.

Catching up with friends recently, the conversation turned to Mischa’s dislike of heights and how when he looks over the edge a little voice in his head tells him “you could just jump right off here if you wanted”. My inner voice is somewhat less psychotic, but still full of questionable suggestions such as, “chocolate mints are definitely a breakfast food during the Christmas season” and “why would you spread the outside of your toasted sandwich in butter when you could smear it in garlic aioli….and then fry it in butter?”.

Most recently, the voice suggested that although the tried and true combination of butter and brown sugar makes an excellent filling in these brioche scrolls, wouldn’t it be fun to use bourbon caramel sauce instead?

Turns out this is a brilliant idea, especially if you just happen to have some bourbon caramel sauce sitting around in the fridge waiting for such an epiphany. If you are a normal person who does not keep jars of homemade caramel sauce on hand at all times, go ahead and use melted butter and brown sugar instead.

The recipe I use for my salty bourbon caramel sauce can be found here. It is my favourite caramel sauce of all time and makes a great accompaniment to sticky toffee pudding, which was its original intended use this time.

I can’t think of a better start to a lazy weekend than one (okay, two) of these soft, sweet, buttery rolls eaten warm from the oven with a cup of coffee and a good book. If the voices in your head have any better ideas, please let me know!

Gently heat milk in a small saucepan until just past lukewarm. Remove from heat and stir in white sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the surface and leave for approx. 5 mins until yeast is foamy.

Combine flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and make a well in the centre. Pour in yeast mixture and egg yolks and stir with a wooden spoon to wet the flour.

Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead on a slow-med speed. Check after 5 minutes and add more flour a tablespoon at a time if the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl. Knead for another 10 minutes.

Dice the softened butter and add 3-4 cubes at a time to the dough, mixing between each addition until all the butter is incorporated. Knead for another 5-8 minutes until the dough is glossy and smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl (or use the same mixing bowl), cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Lightly grease a muffin tray, or rectangular baking dish (approx. the size of a muffin tray).

Punch down dough and give a quick knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a rectangle approx. 1cm thick.

For bourbon caramel: Drizzle caramel sauce over the dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon.

For butter and brown sugar: Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up the dough from the longest edge and slice into 12 even sized scrolls. Arrange the scrolls in the muffin tray or baking dish and cover gently with a damp tea towel or oiled clingfilm. Leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Brush tops of scrolls with milk and bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. Leave to cool for as long as you can resist - but they are best enjoyed still warm from the oven.

Optional: For the glaze, combine maple syrup and icing sugar - adding a dash of water or more icing sugar until a drizzling consistency is achieved. Drizzle over the scrolls before serving.

Notes

The recipe I use for homemade bourbon caramel sauce can be found here.

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6 Comments

That little voice in your head is known by the French as the call of the void (l’appel du vide) :
“that feeling you get when you’re at the top of a tall cliff and consider jumping off. It can be considered a form of self destructive ideation. It’s actually fairly anxiety provoking for most people to be in that kind of a situation, one in which you are quite literally a step away from death”

Mmm yes, the smell of these baking on a cold winter morning would be enough to get anyone out of bed. You can even let them do their second rise in the fridge overnight, then bring them to room temp on the bench before popping straight in the oven in the morning.